Babies in the wild

Babies have an innate ability to be born and to breastfeed. We can learn a lot by observing what babies do when in their natural habitat. One of the biggest questions new parents often ask has to do with what’s normal for feeding, sleep times and awake times.

Breastfeeding lays the foundations for a lifelong relationship and creates mutual dependency between mother and child. Mothers are active participants in the breastfeeding process. It is an innate and acquired behavior. It really is just part of daily living. In our culture there is often a lot of anxiety for new mothers as they hear of others’ struggles or think they need different equipment or aids.

There are many transitions happening at birth. Not only are babies transitioning from neonatal circulation to breathing air, they are also transitioning from placental feeding to breastfeeding. A healthy, full-term newborn will be in a quiet-alert state for the first couple of hours. In the first 24 or so hours babies often are sleepier with more time between feeds. It is often the second night/24 hours that a baby begins to ‘wake-up’ and has more frequent feeds. Newborns have energy stores in the form of glycogen that gives them time to establish breastfeeding.

This time between mother and baby should be uninterrupted to allow the process to begin. Letting the baby do the ‘breast-crawl’ can take an hour or more. Their innate reflexes include things like sucking on their hands, mouth opening, licking or smacking lips, head bobbing and rooting. By patiently waiting and watching, most babies will be able to find the breast and latch on with little assistance.  No artificial nipples or supplementation needs to be given. Babies born in hospital are often more interrupted due to routine procedures and it can take time to reestablish the breastfeeding connection .

Newborns are considered continuous feeders. If a new mom feels like the baby is always at the breast, they probably are, especially in the first week. They will feed at least 8-12 times in a 24-hour period. Colostrum is low in protein and easily digested, it will clear out meconium. Small frequent feeds in the first days will help the transition. A newborn’s stomach does not expand in the first few days and is about the size of a marble. They will only intake about a teaspoon per feed. The size of the stomach grows a lot in the first week.  Small, frequent feeds are important to mature the gut and set up healthy feeding patterns for life.

REM sleep develops about 28-30 weeks gestation while their sleep-wake behavior is developed by about 32 weeks gestation. In the womb they have a sleep-wake cycle of about 40 minutes. Compared to adults who have about a 90-minute cycle when sleeping. After birth baby’s sleep about 18 hours out of a 24 hour period. The sleep cycle is about every 20-50 minutes and about half their time is spent in REM sleep.

In the first 6-8 weeks post birth infants have sleep that has no real set pattern, during this time the central nervous system is maturing and will continue to mature through the first year. This increased sleep duration is a natural part of growth and development and is not reliant on the method of feeding or any type of sleep-training techniques. Because of these sleep cycles, babies are often thought to not sleep well during the first year. Biological nurturing, which uses innate and instinctual cues, encourages connection between mother and baby.

Babies have 3 sleep states, these are deep, light (REM), and drowsy. During the sleep states is when the primitive neonatal reflexes are expressed. Sleep is important as it aids in memory development. When babies are in a light sleep state, they are more likely to latch, this is where early attachment can happen because of these feeding reflexes. This also helps to build recall and memorize suckling patterns. The repetition of feeding goes from instinctive to intentional as the baby gets older. Babies feeding while in a sleep state is often in contrast to what new mothers are told in the hospital of waking baby or making baby cry in order to latch on and nurse. In the first few weeks, fluctuating sleep patterns are normal, and mothers (and fathers) are on baby time.

The 3 awake states of baby include quiet alert, agitated and crying. Babies’ needs are very different to adult needs but often in our culture babies are expected to sleep, wake and eat in the same pattern as adults. Learning what each of these states look like will help you connect to your babies’ needs. If a baby gets to an agitated or crying state it is much more difficult to feed.

Newborns’ natural habitat after birth is on mom, especially in the first 48-72 hours. The mother’s body is the safest place to be. When the baby is skin to skin on mom, she notices the involuntary feeding cues. By being close, mothers protect babies sleep, temperature and breathing.  She also gets to know the baby’s rhythm and baby and mother often ‘synch’ up their patterns.

To help get breastfeeding off to a great start mothers should be encouraged to have normal, physiological birth. Interference from epidurals, fluids, c-sections and induction can have a negative impact. Learn about birth and breastfeeding and have continuous support from a childbirth support specialist/companion/doula. Oxytocin is a natural occurring hormone that has behavioral effects, it crosses the blood-brain barrier. During the birth process it will gradually increase (if the mother is not given the artificial form) and will be at its peak immediately in the mother and the baby as the baby is born. Along with other hormones it will help mother and baby connect.

One of the great ways to maintain connection and aid in development is babywearing. It is a tool that mothers can use to support breastfeeding and milk supply. This can start soon after birth, as the mother is ready to begin to move around after healing from birth.

Milk production will fluctuate throughout the first couple of months as the transition is made from hormonal production to a supply and demand process. Around 6 -8 months babies’ digestion and immune systems are able to handle more the just breastmilk, while breastmilk is still the main source of nourishment and nutrition, they can have solid foods as complimentary nourishment. There are several signs that a baby is ready to start eating solids, including the ability to get to a sitting position on their own. Around 8-9 months babies begin to understand the connection between solid food and being hungry. The transition from exclusively breastfeeding to eating solids can take about a year. Babies rarely stop nursing on their own accord, often there is a misunderstanding of breastfeeding in the second half of the first year and mothers think that baby is self-weaning.

Our understanding of the wisdom of babies continues to grow. The blueprint of conception, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding are a continuum, that when given the opportunity to unfold, will support optimal growth and development. Mothers and babies will be protected from illnesses and future dis-ease and will build strong connections and relationships with each other, families and communities.